Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's interaction with Civil Services Probationers at AARAMBH 2020
Our younger generation is playing a major role in governance, ready to think out of the box and intends to do something new. This has given me a new hope; So, I congratulate you all! Last year on this day, I had a very detailed conversation with the previous batch of trainee officers in Kevadia. And it was decided that every year for this special event - AARAMBH, we will meet at the statue of Sardar Patel here, on the banks of Mother Narmada and together contemplate and try to give a shape to our ideas. But this time it has not been possible because of Corona. This time you are all in Mussoorie, connected with me virtually. I urge all the people and officers associated with this system that as soon as the impact of the corona starts reducing, you must organize a small camp here close to this magnificent statue of Sardar Patel, spend some time here and feel for yourself how this unique destination of India is developing as a tourist destination.
Friends,
There is a huge difference in the conditions that existed a year back and the conditions that persist here today. I believe that in this time of crisis, you must have learnt a lot by looking at the way the country has worked, the way the systems of the country have worked. If you have observed closely, you might also have felt a lot assured. There were a lot of things for which the country depended upon the other countries before. But in its fight against Corona, today, India is in a position to export many of those things. This is a great example of 'Sankalp se Siddhi'.
Friends,
This is an important period in the development journey of India. The time at which you have been inducted into the civil service, is very special. When your batch starts working, when you will actually get to work on field, India will be celebrating its 75 years of independence, which is a great milestone. That is, you will enter into this system and India will be celebrating the festival of 75 years of Indian Independence! And Friends, write this down in your diary, don't forget that you are going to be the officers who will be serving India and will be at an important phase of your career and life when India will celebrate 100 years of its independence. These 25 years between 75 years and 100 years of independence, are very important for India. You are the lucky generation; you are the people who will be a part of the most important administrative systems in these 25 years. In the next 25 years, you will have the huge responsibility of the country's security, security of the poor, welfare of farmers, interest of women and youth, and looking at India's place at the global platform. Many of us will not be with you then, but you will be there, your resolutions will be there, you will be fulfilling the resolutions; and so on this auspicious day, you have to make several promises to yourself, not to me, but to yourself. Only you will be a witness to your promises. I request you to give yourself half an hour before going to sleep tonight. Write down everything that is going on in your mind, about your duties, responsibilities and resolutions.
Friends,
The paper on which you will write your resolutions, the paper on which you will give words to your dreams, that piece of paper, will not just be a piece of paper anymore, but will be a piece of your heart. These pieces of paper will remain with you throughout your life as your heartbeat to fulfill your resolutions. Just as your heart brings a steady flow to the body, every word written on this paper will keep your life's resolutions flowing ceaselessly. We will carry forward every dream with determination and in the flow of 'Sankalp se Siddhi'. Then you will not need any inspiration or lessons from anyone. This paper, your words from your heart on this paper will keep reminding you of this day and your resolutions.
Friends,
In a way, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is the father of the country's civil services. On April 21, 1947, while addressing the first batch of Administrative Services Officers, Sardar Patel called civil servants the steel frame of the country. Sardar saheb had advised that serving the citizens of the country was their highest duty. I also urge that every decision of the civil servant should be in the context of the nation and should strengthen the unity and integrity of the country. It should retain the spirit of the Constitution. Even if your area is small, even if the scope of the department you handle is small, your decisions should always be in the interest of the country and the people. There should be a National Perspective.
Friends,
The work of steel frame is not just to give a shape or to handle the ongoing system but also to make the country realize that despite a major crisis or major change, you will fulfil your responsibility of taking the country forward as a single force. You will successfully fulfill your responsibilities as your facilitator. Once in the field, you will be with different people, but you always have to remember this role; never make the mistake of forgetting it. You also have to remember that whatever the frame might be, whether of a car, the spectacles or a picture, it becomes meaningful only when it sticks together. The steel frame you are representing will have a greater impact only when you stay with the team and work like a team. In the future, you have to handle districts and lead different departments. In the future, you will also take decisions that will have an impact on the entire state and across the country. At that time, your team spirit will be more useful to you. When you combine the larger goals of the national interest with your personal resolutions, irrespective of the service, and put all your strength as a team, then not only will you succeed but I say with confidence that the country too will never fail.
Friends,
Sardar Patel had dreamed of 'Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat'. His dream was related to that of a 'self-reliant India'. The biggest lesson that we have learnt even during the pandemic is that of self-reliance. The spirit of 'Ek Bharat-Shreshtha Bharat' and 'Self-reliant India' today is witnessing the formation of 'New India'. Being new can have various meanings and emotions. But to me, new does not mean that you just remove the old and bring something new. 'New' for me means rejuvenation, being creative, being fresh and energetic! For me, being new means making the 'old' into something more relevant, leaving behind what is outdated. It takes courage even to give up and hence you have to constantly think, discuss and find out the requirements to create the new, superior and self-reliant India today. Friends, it is true that in order to fulfil the goal of a self-reliant India, we need science and technology, resources and finances, but it is also important to know what your role would be as a civil servant to fulfil this vision. You have to take care of this goal of the country round the clock when it comes to fulfilling the aspirations, the quality of your work as well as the speed.
Friends,
For the new changes in the country, for achieving new goals, for adopting new approach and new methods, training is very crucial for the development of skill-set. Earlier there wasn't a lot of emphasis on it. Enough thought was not given to how modern approaches to training can be brought in. But now there is a lot of emphasis on the approach and modern training of human resources in the country. You have seen for yourselves how the process of training of the civil servants has been revolutionalized in the last two-three years. The training pattern has changed a lot. This 'AARAMBH' is not just the beginning; it is a symbol and a new tradition as well. The government has started another campaign a few days ago- Mission Karmayogi. Mission Karmayogi is a new experiment of its kind in the direction of capacity building. Through this mission, the government employees have to modernize their thinking, approach and improve their skill-set. It is to give them an opportunity to become a karmayogi.
Friends, Lord Krishna has said in the Gita- यज्ञ अर्थात् कर्मणः अन्यत्र लोकः अयम् कर्म बंधनः’। That is, apart from Yajna i.e. service, the work done for self gains is not duty. It is rather something that binds us. Duty is something, which is done with a major vision for a major goal. We all have to become karmayogis of this task; you, me and everyone has to be a Karmayogi. Friends, rules have contributed a lot to this long journey that you all are moving upon. But at the same time, you have to focus more on the role. A constant struggle will go on between the rule and the role. There will be a constant tension between the two. The rules have their own importance, the role has its own significant responsibility. There has to be a balance between these two; this is the game for you: walking on a tight rope. The government has also been emphasizing upon a role-based approach for quite some time. Its results are also visible. Firstly - capacity and competency in civil services: A new architecture has been built for it. Secondly - the methods of learning have become democratized. And thirdly - every officer's responsibility and expectations are also being ascertained according to his/her capacity. The idea behind working with this approach is that when you play your part well in every role, you will be positive in your overall life. This positivity will pave the way to your success and you will be satisfied with your life as a Karmayogi.
Friends,
Life is said to be dynamic. Governance is also a dynamic phenomenon. Therefore, we talk about responsive government. First of all it is necessary for a civil servant to constantly be connected with the ordinary citizens of the country. When you connect with the people, it will become easier to work in democracy. You will go for field training after the completion of foundation training and professional training. I would advise you to join the people in the field; do not be cut-off. Never let the post of 'bureaucrat' get into your head. Never forget the land you have come from, the family and the society you have come from. Keep connecting with the society; keep connecting! Just merge with the public life and the society, the people will become the support of your power. Your two hands will turn into a thousand arms. These thousand arms are the power of the people; you must try to understand them and learn from them. I often say, the government does not run from the top. It is important to involve the people for whom the policies are being framed. People are not just the receivers of government policies or programmes; Janata Janardan or the people are the real driving force, so we need to move from government to governance.
Friends,
After graduating from this academy, when you move forward, there will be two paths in front of you. One path will be the path of ease, facilities, name & fame. The other will be the path of challenges, difficulties, struggles and problems. I want to tell you one thing today from my experience. You will face the real challenge only when you take the easier path. You must have noticed that the road which is straight without any turns are the most dangerous. But on a road with a lot of turns, the driver is extremely cautious. Hence, there are less accidents. Hence, the straightforward path sometimes becomes very difficult. It is NOT necessary that the path that you are walking towards the ambitious goal of nation-building and a self-reliant India would be easy. In fact, it is better to not even expect it to be easy. If you work continuously to increase the ease of living of the people, then not only you, but the entire country will get the benefit of the same and you will witness India growing in front of you within that period from 75 years of Indian independence to 100 years of independence. Today, the role of all the bureaucrats in the mode in which the country is working, is that of 'minimum government, maximum governance'. You have to ensure that your intervention in the lives of the citizens is reduced and the common man is empowered.
In our Upanishads it is said- ‘न तत् द्वतीयम् अस्ति’। That is, no one is different from me. Whatever work you do, for whom you do it, do it with your understanding. And I will say from my own experience that when you consider your department, and the people as your family and work, you will never be tired and will always be filled with a new energy. Friends, during field posting, officers are identified by what they are doing differently, what changes they have made in the pre-existing situation. If in the field, you move out of the files, away from the routine and then work for the development of your area, the impact of what you do for the people will be different and the result too will be different. For example, in the districts and the blocks where you will be working, there will be many such things, there will be various products that would have a global potential. But those products, those art work, their artists need local support to be global. You will have to support them. This vision has to be created by you. Likewise, you can find and reach out to one local innovator and help him as a partner in his work. Probably with your cooperation, that innovation comes out as a huge contribution to society. I know that you might be thinking that you can do all this, but what will happen if you get transferred? I had talked about the team spirit in the beginning. This is the reason I had mentioned in the beginning. Even if you are in one place today and in another place tomorrow, never give up your efforts in that area! Never forget your goals. Take your successors into confidence. Boost their faith and encourage them. Keep helping them from wherever you are. Your dreams will also be fulfilled by your next generation. You can also make new officers partners in your goals.
Friends,
Wherever you go, there is one more thing to keep in mind. You should not be identified only by your tenure marked in that office. You should be identified with your work. Yes, with growing popularity, the media and social media will also attract you a lot. It is one thing to be discussed in the media because of the work and it is just another thing to work to be a topic of discussion in the media. You have to understand the difference between them and move ahead. You have to remember that the civil servants have been identified as people working anonymously. If you look at the period of time after independence, sometimes we hear of some powerful people who had remained anonymous throughout their tenure. Nobody knew their names but after retiring someone wrote something about them and only then everyone came to know that this Babu had contributed so much to the country, the same is ideal for you. Your seniors before you in the past 4-5 decades have followed it with a great discipline. You too have to keep this in mind.
Friends,
When I meet my young political colleagues like MLAs, our MPs, I definitely ask them to stay away from the 2 malaise viz. 'Dikhas' and 'Chhapas'. I want to tell you the same thing; Dikhas means appearing on TV and Chhapas is to be printed in newspapers. If you catch these 2 diseases, then you will not be able to achieve the goal with which you have entered the civil services.
Friends,
I am sure, all of you, with your spirit of service and dedication, will make a huge contribution in the development journey of the country and making the country self-reliant. Before I finish my speech, I want to assign you all a task; If you raise your hands, I will assume that you will do. Will everyone raise his/her hands? Will you do it? Well listen then. You might be fond of the concept of 'vocal for local'. Isn't it? In the next two-four days, make a list of all the things that you use in your daily life which are manufactured within India with the blood and sweat of the Indian labourers and depicts the talent of Indians, and also of all the things that are manufactured outside India ranging from shoes to the things you use for hair. Take a look at these things and decide for yourself that apart from the things that are not available in India or it is not possible to manufacture those things in India presently what are the things that you can buy locally? Probably 30 out of 50 such things are available locally. Maybe you don't yet know about the products but try to see how you can reduce the usage.
See, self-reliance must start with the self. Can you start with 'vocal for local'? Second- your institution's name is associated with Lal Bahadur Shastri. Make a list of all the things in your campus, in your auditorium, your classroom, that have been manufactured outside India. Now try to see whether the place from where an entire generation gets ready to lead the country, where the seed is sown, which is part of your lives now has this 'vocal for local' or not. You will enjoy it. I am not saying that open this path for your colleagues, it is for yourself. Try to see in your lives, you must be having such things that are manufactured abroad inspite of an Indian equivalent. You might not even know that it is made abroad. See, to make India self-reliant, we all have to start with ourselves and make the country self-reliant.
My dear friends! My young friends!
The nation is handing over the dreams and resolutions for 100 years of independence as well as the future generations to you. The country is handing over to you the 25-35 years to come. You are receiving such a magnanimous gift. Hold it in your hands as a great luck of life; arouse the spirit of Karmayogi. I Hope that you will continue to walk on the path of Karmayog and make progress. Once again, I congratulate all of you. I thank you very much. And I assure you that I am with you every moment. I am with you every second. You can knock at my door whenever required. As long as I am there, wherever I might be, I am your friend, I am your partner. Let us all start working together to fulfil the dreams of 100-years of independence right now. Let us all move forward.
Thanks a lot!